1. INTRODUCTION
The changes in Bulgaria at the end of 1989 strongly
influence the economy of the country. The economic
structures are changing, the participation of the
government in the economy is decreasing considerably,
the relations between it and the private physical and legal
entities are changing, the private incentives in the trade,
commerce and banking are stimulated.
The economic changes are accomplished in three
directions:
(i) Restitution of ownership of urban property and
industrial enterprises,
(ii) Privatization of state-owned industrial enterprises,
(iii) Restitution of private ownership of agricultural lands.
(iv) The restitution of private ownership of forests.
The territory of Bulgaria is 111 thousand sq. km, 6096 of
which are farming lands and 4096 are arable lands. The
settlements are above 5 thousand and occupy 4.596 of
the territory. The population of Bulgaria is 8.5 million.
2. LAND REFORM AND CADASTRE
2.1. Land Reform
The Law of Property and Use of Agricultural Lands was
adopted by the Bulgarian Parliament in February 1991
and was updated several times. On the basis of this Law
the Bulgarian Government issued Rules for its application
in April 1991. In June 1992 the Main Department of
Lands and Land Property at the Ministry of Agriculture
and Food Industry issued Methodical Guidelines and
Technical Standards for application of the Law on
Property and Use of Agricultural Lands on the basis of
elaboration of the Main Department of Cadastre and
Geodesy at the Ministry of Regional Development and
Construction.
The Law initiates the land reform in Bulgaria, and other
acts indicate the ways for the accomplishment of the
reform in technical and legal aspect.
According to the Law, the Rules for its application and
the Methodical Guidelines:
(i) The property rights of the owners or their heirs on the
agricultural lands, owned before the formation of the
cooperatives and state owned farms are restored.
(ii) The landless and poor citizens are given lands from
the state and communal land funds.
(ii) The land reform is financed entirely by the state
budget.
(iv)The restitution of ownership of agricultural lands is
done within the limits of the territories belonging to
one village by qualified companies or individuals.
The Law of Property and Use of Agricultural Lands
liquidated about 2300 large agricultural farms, each
managing formally 20-60 sq. km of land. The rights on
them for managing and mastering will be restituted to the
former owners of the land before its co-operation 40
years ago. These owners number over about one million.
80
Together with their heirs the total number of persons
whose ownership of land will be restituted may reach
three million.
The land reform affects the interests of many people and
its accomplishment depends on different state
institutions. The activities on restitution of ownership of
agricultural lands are run and controlled mainly by the
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and the Ministry
of Regional Development and Construction not
underestimating, however, the role of the Ministry of
Justice and the Ministry of Finance.
Some 273 Municipal Land Commissions to the Main
Department of Lands and Land Property, which was
formed within the Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Industry especially for the restitution of ownership of
agricultural lands, are established on the territory of the
country. Their task is the accomplishment of the land
reform on 4700 lands. For this purpose contracts were
signed with 600 companies most of which have surveying
as the main subject of activity. The portion of the
technical activities on the land reform which are done by
the state companies is 75% and by the private
companies — 25%. The work force engaged this task
numbers 1800 state administrative officials and 3000
specialists.
The statistical data show that the applications for
restitution of ownership of agricultural lands, are 2.4
million for about 8 million real estates with a total land
area of 57 thousand sq. km, the applications of private
persons being for 51 thousand sq. km of it, and those of
legal entities for the rest 6 thousand sq. km. lt is
expected that until the end of 1996 about 89% of the
lands is to be returned to the owners.
The restitution of ownership of agricultural lands is a
great challenge for the Bulgarian surveyors. There has
never been and will probably never be another case for
the state to invest in a short time considerable funds in
an activity which is in fact surveying. Bulgaria cannot
allow the use of the measurements and the resulting
information, connected with the land reform, to be limited
only to the restitution of ownership of land. The data
collected will be used for the development of up-to-date
cadastre and for the creation of Land Information System
(LIS) with the purpose of its development into a
Geographic Information System (GIS), as well as for
solution of ecological problems. The cadastre and the
information system for the land are necessary for the
future land market.
2.2. Cadastre
The first Cadastre Low in Bulgaria is from 1908 and the
second one is from 1941. The third Law for Uniform
Cadastre from 1979 is active now together with the Rules
for its application from 1983. For obvious reasons the
operative Law cannot satisfy the present requirements
and a draft for a fourth cadastre law is in process of
active preparation to be put forward in Parliament.
According to the operating Law and Rules for the
application:
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